SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT ANCIENT GREEK AGRICULTURE.

What different kinds of crops were grown in Ancient Greece? 

    Some of the different kinds of crops grown in Ancient Greece are as follows: olives, grapes, figs, grain, lentils, apples, pears, pomegranates, peas, onions, garlic, and cabbages.  As you can see, there were many different crops grown in Ancient Greece, however, some were more popular than others.  For example, the olive was a very important crop, that was considered a delicacy.  It was very useful, in many different ways.  Some of the ways olives were used were; farmers extracted oil from the and used it for fat when cooking, they also used that oil to burn in lamps.  Another way olives were used was for medicinal preparation, and also for sacrifices made to the gods.  Olives were a source of calories which can be good and bad.
    Another important crop was grapes.  Wine was drunk in many places and was very popular in the Ancient world and along the Mediterranean was a perfect place to grow grapes.  So you can probably guess that the main reason for grapes was to make wine.  The grapes were also a good source of carbohydrates for the Greeks.  The other fruits and vegetables that I mentioned of course were used for many proposes but they were not as important to the Greeks as grapes and olives.  For instance, figs could be eaten either dried or fresh, and they could be made into cake.  As you may notice, the Greeks had a very interesting assortment of foods.  They had everything from fruits, to cakes.  Many of the things they made we still enjoy today.

How were the land and conditions for farming in Ancient Greece? 

 The land and conditions in Greece were a mixed bag.  The land was 80% mountains, so the Greeks could never have very large farming areas, but the climate was perfect for growing grapes.  One thing about distributing the land was that each family was given a polis to pass down to next generations.  There was also the issue of the mountains dividing each city from other cities.  So the farmers couldn't always stay with their city or town.  Sometimes, they had to venture out to other places for good soil and good conditions.  The good soil was where wheat for bread was mostly grown.  The soil near the coast was not great so that meant they also had to go inland to find good soil.  But when people chose to farm by the shore, they had to use systems of irrigation and crop rotation.
 The summers in Ancient Greece were hot and dry, and the winters were okay, but rainy near the coast, and cold and snowy near the mountains.  The climate was perfect for olive trees.  As I said before the land and climate varied, but it was good and bad in all different ways.

What kinds of animals could you find on an Ancient Greek farm? 

  You would find many animals on an Ancient Greek farm.  Some of the many animals you would find include; oxen, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs.  In Ancient Greece, cattle were thought to be the most important of all the animals.  Some even thought that raising cattle was more important than raising crops.  Cattle were mainly used for milk.  Their hide was used to make leather, and they were used for meat which was considered a luxury.  Oxen were also very useful.  They were used to pull ploughs that tilled the soil so it could be planted in.  Sheep and goats were used for their milk, which was sometimes made into cheese.  They were also used for their meat.  Sheep were used for their fleece, which was made into wool. The meat that was taken from these animals was usually only used for sacrifices and other sacred things.  One problem with the sheep and goats, though, was the fact that they weren't picky eaters, so they could eat almost anything, including the farmers vegetables, that was why certain cities even banned the ability to breed goats.  These animals are only some of those that you could find on many Ancient Greek farms.  Today, you could find many of the same animals that you would find on an Ancient Greek farm.  Most of the animals are even used for the same resons.  That just goes to show you how we may have been influenced from many Ancient civilizations.


What were the typical jobs of men and women on an Ancient Greek farm? 

 Men and women had very different jobs.  The men did most of the heavy work, and the women did some of the lighter work.  Some of the jobs the men did included ploughing and reaping.  Some of the jobs for women include, sowing seed, making crafts, tending the house and the children, and weeding the fields.  Many thought the woman's place was in the home, and that was partially true.  But not always as you can probably see from the examples I presented.  But the women were respected when at home.
    Sometimes the women would make crafts to sell at market for extra money.  These crafts may have included baskets or other objects made by weaving.As you can tell, women had a lot to do when the men were out in the fields.  And they were respected for it too.  Women and men in Ancient Greece had very different roles, but the interesting thing is that they were equally important.

What machinery was used on an Ancient Greek farm? 

 There wasn't that much machinery used on farms.  It was mostly manual, but there was some.  Three of the most common pieces of equipment were the plough, and the wine-press, and the beam-press.  The beam-press was used to extract olive oil from the olives that were picked from the trees.  The mechanism was very heavy and it usually took more than one person to operate it.  The men would push a large press that pressed the olives and squeezed the oil out of them.
The oil then dripped into a pot to be used in various ways which I mentioned earlier.  Another common piece of machinery I mentioned was the wine-press.  After the grapes were trampled, and the juice had flowed into  containers, the juice still had to be de-pulped.  So, it was placed in a press that squeezed all the juice out, but left the pulp.  This juice would either be drank immediately or placed in containers to ferment.  There was also the plough.  This was pulled by oxen to till the soil to make it ready for planting.
 There wasn’t a lot of machinery involved in the farming, but the pieces that were used were very effective.  Many pieces of equiptment, such as the plough, are still used to this very day.

In what ways does Ancient Greek agriculture have to do with Ancient Egyptian agriculture? 

    Ancient Greek, and Ancient Egyptian agriculture werre both the same, and different in many  ways.  One of the ways they were similar was that they both had similar animals on their farms.  The Greeks had oxen pull the ploughs, as did the Egyptians.  Another thing that was similar was fact that they both had to give a certain amount of their crops to the town or to the Pharaoh.  So, we can conclude that many Ancient civilizations depend on farmers to be the backbone of their civilizations.  Many people would starve without the help of farmers.    Some of the things that were different about the two civilizations was the fact that they were in different geographical locations which makes different weather and conditions.  In Ancient Egypt, the soil was very dry, it was desert. Then the rain, melted snow, and the Nile made the soil very rich.  Also, Ancient Egypt was very flat compared to Ancient Greece which was very mountainous.  This made it very hard for the Greeks to have large farming areas when it was a little bit easier for the Egyptians.  These are only some of the ways these two ancient civilizations are similar and different.

Originally published in http://fc.nbsc.org/~nbsc7/00/ghpg1.htm and after deleted. This copy was saved June, 2004 and edited to be posted by LC.

Share this post